09-12 Running with the ball

Description

Firstly, player must make sure that his first touch when he receives the ball is controlled. Ball should be placed forward thus ensuring he doesn’t have to break his running stride and he continues running smoothly.

The runner must always aim to run as straight and direct as possible. If the player is moving slowly with the ball, then the ball should be kept closer to the feet for better control and less risk. If player has free space in front of him he can knock the ball forward and use less touch to gain speed.

Once the ball has been controlled, the player must always keep his head up and have visibility to keep it under control whilst moving at optimum speed. A player who keeps his head down to look at the ball is not fully aware of what is happening around and will not be able to make correct decisions.

When player runs with the ball he touches it in front of him with one of three parts of the foot: inside of the foot, full instep and outside of the foot. A player who wants to master technique in soccer must be able to use all three variations.

We should teach youngsters to be able to use both feet. The ultimate is the player who can run with the ball, pushing it ahead of him with both feet, changing direction whenever necessary, slowing down and speeding up to get rid of an opponent.

With beginners or kids first let them walk with the ball, taking care of their balance, the distance between the foot and the ball and the direction. Later, when the kids get used to it we can speed this up, first through jogging and then running with the ball.

The whole art of running with the ball requires calm, smooth and controlled actions. The player must be positive and select right decisions not to lose momentum.

This manual is fulfilled with variations of basic and advanced practices to improve the performance of running with the ball. Moving with the ball unopposed leading to challenging exercises and competing against an opponent. Moving with the ball forward often changing speed and direction which helps develop running technique with the ball.